My Metro died. What car should I get? Thinking Camry/Accord appliance.

[Shaneajanderson]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Not sure how different your car's drivetrain is from the next gen Camry, but my parents had a 2002 (and now a 2005) I4 that was a surprisingly good highway MPG machine:



Thread: Speed vs. MPG chart: 2002 Toyota Camry 2.4 auto (impressive highway MPG sleeper car?)





Note though the gauge that got me the above numbers was later calibrated against a similar car - they were about 10% high. Still very decent though.


The 2002 Camry drag coefficient is supposedly 0.28. That's decent.

The other beauty is in 2 weeks I'm starting a new job, 10 miles closer to home, and instead of the interstate where driving 75 puts you at risk of getting run down, it makes more sense to take the 55 mph county road, and hardly anybody uses it despite it being nice blacktop.

[litesong]

Originally Posted by Xist

It said that you are a careless typist and do not proofread.

U thinc this webcyst ist wirth precis poofreeding. I don't. But, I know "don'T rump" when I see....IT!

[Xist]

It is vastly easier to put a Kamm back on a hunchback.

Mom keeps track of all of her fill-ups in a notebook. I created a garage entry to digitize it, but even though she always resets both tripmeters (why both?!), she only writes down mileage, not the trip distance.

If I did that I would have an easier time figuring out gaps in my log.

I made a spreadsheet and questioned her data, one tank works out to 17 MPG, another 55, and another 56. I discarded them and have a range of 21.3877 - 32.44873 MPG, averaging 26 MPG. That leaves one tank at 21.x, one at 22.x, one at 23.x, four at 24.x, 27.x, 28.x, 31.x, and 32.x.

I wonder if my tanks vary that much.

However, I usually drive. She runs errands in-town, but when my brother wants me to take him to the store, he has me drive Mom's car, and I have driven every trip to Phoenix for eighteen months except for the last. While I was trying to figure out what was wrong with my Accord I kept borrowing her car. It was the only car we had, I babied it, driving 65 in a 55, probably 50 in a 55, etc.

[Shaneajanderson]

Originally Posted by litesong

U thinc this webcyst ist wirth precis poofreeding. I don't. But, I know "don'T rump" when I see....IT!

Does Ecomodder ban people for stupidity? please keep your political garbage out of my car thread.

[redpoint5]

Sounds like your life is moving in a positive direction on many fronts. Congratulations on all accounts.

[Shaneajanderson]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Sounds like your life is moving in a positive direction on many fronts. Congratulations on all accounts.

yes, though I do wish it wouldn't happen all at once. New job on 10/21, closing on a house 10/25, new car yesterday. I was really hoping the metro would last till after closing, and then I would have probably set a 3k budget for a car. as it is, I paid 750 for the Camry just to keep the belt tight.

[Xist]

You are not talking about a tensioner, are you?

By the way, the 2002 - 2006 Camry tensioner is a pain. This is how Shouty and everyone else says to change the serpentine belt: http://i.imgur.com/xrf0IDt.gif

He complained the original was made of "pot metal," but the new one was high-quality. Well, here is Mom's original:



Here is the high-quality new one on Mom's car with the same part broken:

She towed it to her mechanic who used a special tool. I do not have any idea what it was, all of the tools that I see are basically sockets on breaker bars.

[Shaneajanderson]

Originally Posted by Xist

You are not talking about a tensioner, are you?

By the way, the 2002 - 2006 Camry tensioner is a pain. This is how Shouty and everyone else says to change the serpentine belt: http://i.imgur.com/xrf0IDt.gif

He complained the original was made of "pot metal," but the new one was high-quality. Well, here is Mom's original:



Here is the high-quality new one on Mom's car with the same part broken:

She towed it to her mechanic who used a special tool. I do not have any idea what it was, all of the tools that I see are basically sockets on breaker bars.

I haven't the faintest clue what you are getting at here, though I'm tired so sorry if it's obvious. I don't think I mentioned the tensioners on this 96, but it's not a serpentine belt system. One belt runs off the crank and powers the alternator and AC, the other runs off the crank and powers the power steering, water pump is (I assume) timing belt driven.

[Shaneajanderson]

Ok I get it now. "Keep the belt tight" was a metaphor for going about it cheaply, cause I'm a cheapo on most everything. My wife almost talked me into taking a loan for ~3k to buy a "nice" car, but I'd rather pay cash. To be honest if I wasn't coming right up on a house closing I could buy a 3k car cash, but probably never would, again because I'm cheap.

[litesong]

Originally Posted by Xist

Do you love your wife as much as you love Hyundai Accents?

I'll give you a chance (maybe even chances) to ask forgiveness for your puck post.